As I sit here tonight, it appears that Tennessee and Greg Schiano “had” agreed to an informal deal, but due to the fan backlash, I don’t believe it will go through. Here are my thoughts on it.
First off, the obvious problem here. Greg Schiano was accused of knowing of the abuse at Penn State in July of 2016 by a Washington Post article. So what if you told the head coach yourself? Does not matter. If you see a grown man doing something disgusting with a child at work, you tell your boss, then tell his boss, then tell his boss and even tell the police yourself. If none of those people respond, you keep telling people until something is done about it. It’s that simple. Tell and follow up until something is done.
Second off, aside from the child rape cover up, he’s just not a good head coach. His record says he’s not, and players do not like him. This guys has loser written all over him. We as a fanbase are tired of settling for hires like this. We don’t deserve it, and there is no reasoning behind it. 68-67 at Rutgers and 11-21 at Tampa Bay. You’re a loser. We have the money to hire just about anyone we please. Why would we would sit here and settle for this guy? Unbelievable.
To John Currie, this will not blowover, you will lose your job and the university will have riots if you hire this man. Don’t do it. The fact that this guy was even seriously considered should put John Currie under the microscope and questions need to be asked. I think he should be replaced over it. Unbelievable that he thought a terrible head coach who covered up a child rape should would make a great candidate at one of the most historical football programs in the country. John Currie, you are responsible for the greatest PR disaster in UT history. This disaster is 1000 times worse than the Title IX sexual assault lawsuit. John Currie, your ass is now on the hotseat due to this.
I don’t think we will hire him. If we do, Smokey, a lifelong UT fan, will no longer cover UT or be a UT fan. I will not watch another UT game, and will get rid of all UT gear in my house. Call that being disloyal, call it whatever you want, but I will not support a university or a team that hires a man who has covered up the rape of children. There’s pretty good evidence that this isn’t going to happen though. Reports from multiple outlets are coming out about the fan outrage and Schiano having second thoughts are coming out. My local Tennessee representative, Susan Lynn, put the following on Facebook,
“For more than an hour and a half I have been texting on a group text with 73 other state legislators about the possibility of Greg Schiano being named the new head coach of UT. Schiano worked at Penn State during the Sandusky years, and according to a July 2016 Washington Post article, Mike McQueary testified that Schiano knew of Sandusky’s abuse. Over this hour and a half, we have had our leadership contact Depitro, the Trustees and the Governor to express our strong objections to his hiring if true. We are still texting…”
In closing, I don’t believe this will happen, but if it does there are going to major consequences for John Currie and everyone involved in this hire. Based on the fact that this almost happened, there needs to be some major questions asked to some people on the hill. Thank goodness for a passionate fanbase, and lawmakers who let their voice be heard on this issue.
Smokey covers the Tennessee Volunteers for the SoBros Network. He loves a good backpacking trip, but hates taking a shit in the woods. Follow on Twitter: @SoBroSmokey
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